♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ Edgar: My name is Jacob Edgar.

I'm an explorer, but I don't search for lost cities or ancient ruins.

I'm on the quest for a different kind of treasure -- music.

♪ Derrière les montagnes et loin des charmes de l'Espagne ♪ ♪ Je retrouveràis Cochabamba ♪ ♪ Je verrais les femmes et les enfants ♪ As an ethnomusicologist and world music record producer, I travel the globe hunting for the best songs the world has to offer -- and I suffer through some of the worst so you don't have to.

♪ Amigo, reste pres de moi ♪ ♪ Cette nuit on va danser tout pres de la muerte ♪ I've got a backstage pass to the world's music, and I won't stop until I've heard it all.

[ Man singing in French ] ♪♪♪ [ Singing fades, stops ] ♪♪♪ ♪ Ooh, yeah ♪ ♪♪♪ ♪ Mm-hmm ♪ ♪ Send me up ♪ ♪ Come on and tell me ♪ ♪ How much you care, baby ♪ ♪ Send me up ♪ ♪ Come on and tell me how much you care ♪ ♪♪♪ ♪ Send me up ♪ ♪ Come on and tell me ♪ ♪ How much you care, baby ♪ It's hard to imagine a world, much less a beach party, without the infectious and irie grooves of reggae music.

Its off-beat shuffle and pulsing bass lines have become an essential and savory ingredient in the planet's rich musical stew.

♪ Prove your love to me ♪ ♪ Me want you lookin' at me eye ♪ ♪ Me don' want you tell me no lies ♪ Bob Marley's success brought reggae into smoky dorm rooms in the 1970s.

But reggae has many musical predecessors, and its roots extend back hundreds of years and thousands of miles to Africa.

As I explore the Jamaican music scene, I wonder what, if anything, still exists of the music and artists that were around before Bob Marley and the Reggae Explosion.

What styles were blasting out of neighborhood radios and nightclubs when Bob Marley was just a kid causing trouble in the streets of Trenchtown?

♪ Tell me how much you care ♪ As is the case across the Caribbean, Jamaican music reflects a blend of African and European influences.

The slaves who arrived on the island starting in the 1600s brought nothing with them but their culture, including their rich music and dance heritage.

Africa is renowned for its complex drumming, and this sense of rhythm has been a fundamental element of Jamaican music for hundreds of years.

[ Rhythmic drumming ] ♪♪♪ [ Men singing indistinctly ] ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ The Akwaaba drummers are experts in Kumina and Nyabinghi music.

Nyabinghi drumming is a pretty recent invention.

It was developed by Rastafarians in the 20th century who were seeking to create an African-inspired sacred music for their religious ceremonies.

But Kumina has a pure African lineage.

Buroo: My name is Osii Muasay Osiya Buroo.

I am a teacher, but I'm a drummer, as well.

What you heard was -- was -- was Kumina, the drumming -- an aspect of Kumina.

Originally, it is said that Kumina came with the enslaved people from West Africa.

And what you heard, also, the singing was just one of those songs.

It's repetitive, as you heard.

A song like that would be sung in a communal ritual that is praise, and probably giving praise to someone who has been born.

♪♪♪ Edgar: Has Kumina played a role in contemporary Jamaican music in it?

Yes, it has.

The -- The bass rhythm that you hear has gone on to influence the bass in reggae, has gone on to influence the bass in Rastafarian music.

There are several dances, too.

A lot of the dances that the -- the contemporary deejays have created, these dances have Kumina moves.

The movement of the feet, the movement of the body, the twisting of the head from one side to the next, all that is Kumina.

And the call and response that hear the deejays engaging with the audience, saying something and having the audience respond, that is also a trait of Kumina, as well.

♪♪♪ Edgar: As the sounds of the drums fill the air in the beautiful Boone Hall Oasis, a botanical garden in the hills above Kingston, I can hear the echoes of ancient Africa ringing out.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ [ Indistinct ] ♪♪♪ I read somewhere that, when he was a little boy, Bob Marley used to impress his family by singing the classic mento song "Don't Touch Me Tomato."

It goes like this -- "Hey, mister, don't you touch me, tomato.

Don't you touch me tomato.

Touch me and me pumpkin potato.

For goodness sake, don't touch me tomato."

Alright, it's clear I'm not destined to be a global reggae star, but you get the idea.

Mento is a Jamaican folk style that was popular in the first half of the 20th century.

And like its cousin, Trinidadian calypso, it has catchy melodies and lyrics filled with social commentary and raunchy double entendres.

Authentic mento is pretty hard to find today, but I've been told that there's a group in Negril that continues to write new songs in the mento style.

Well, I'll take any excuse for a road trip.

♪♪♪ [ Woman speaking indistinctly ] So I hop on the bus, and I head west from Kingston, along the southern coast, to Negril.

♪ Oh, yeah ♪ ♪ When you see Jah chariot rolling, strolling ♪ ♪ I'll be on that ride ♪ Ron Berk is my travel companion on this quest for Jamaica's musical roots.

He was one of the founders of the legendary music festival Reggae Sunsplash, and he's a living encyclopedia of Jamaican music and culture.

You were telling me that Marley -- back home in Jamaica at the time, Marley was not nearly as popular or respected as he was -- [ Indistinct ] And in fact, I think Bob gave up on reggae music, and went to America, and became a welder.

[ Laughs ] Can you imagine if that history had actually happened, and Bob Marley had become, like, a welder?

I mean, "working on the night shift" refers to his factory work.

Oh, right, right, right, right, right.

♪ When you see Jah chariot ♪ Like me, Ron loves street food.

And every once in a while, we stop for some local roadside delicacies.

Wait, what's it called?

Guinep.

G-u-i-n-e-p. Guinep.

Guinep.

I've never even heard of a guinep.

It's just like a lychee, kind of.

Yes.

Don't eat the seed.

Thanks for telling me.

You have to eat, like, hundreds of these in order to get any actual fruit flavor.

Woman: Want the cashew?

Oh, yeah.

We definitely want some cashews.

♪ ...already stood ♪ ♪♪♪ Edgar: Over his many years in the industry, Ron has seen it all, and he entertains me with stories about his adventures in the music business.

So, Peter Tosh was one of the original...?

One of the original.

Peter, Bunny, and Bob.

Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer, and Bob Marley.

But Peter Tosh went on to have a pretty successful career... Oh, he did.

...of his own.

He did.

He did.

You know, a very colorful character.

Yeah.

He's a guy that... uh... talking and dealing with him, got to be right on point.

Just didn't have any tolerance for anything that was considered a waste of time.

He didn't suffer fools.

Not at all.

♪ Stick together ♪ [ Woman rapping indistinctly ] ♪♪♪ The Peter Tosh Memorial is along the route to Negril.

Tosh was one of the original Wailers and a huge star in his own right.

Outside of the colorful mausoleum -- which is in the yard of Tosh's childhood home and where his mother still lives -- one of Tosh's cousins is selling CDs by the reggae icon.

♪♪♪ Tosh was murdered in 1987 in a brutal shooting.

Ron knew Tosh personally, and he tells me more about the life and legacy of this controversial reggae icon.

Well, he was one of the really strong songwriters, you know, and -- and a super performer.

But his character, he was one of those very unbending, unapologetic Rastas.

Right.

He had strong opinions.

Fought the system to the maximum.

Right, right, right.

And no amount of police beatings or brutality could shut his mouth.

He just never changed.

[ Laughs ] He was a most militant man, you know?

But likable, you know, with a keen sense of humor.

Really likable guy, you know?

Well, we always have his music.

...cutting edge of militancy.

♪ Don't know Yardy Crew ♪ ♪♪♪ ♪ Don't know Yardy Crew ♪ ♪♪♪ After a wonderful journey past lush green mountains and stunning beaches, we meet up with Gil Zin and the Blue Light Mento Band by the Negril Lighthouse to hear their take on the traditional mento sound.

Man: ♪ Yeah, this morning, as I woke up ♪ ♪ As I woke up, as I woke up in misery ♪ ♪ Then I was sitting by the riverside ♪ ♪ Then I feel someone touch me on my shoulder ♪ ♪ I said, "Darling, I know something's wrong" ♪ ♪ And she was crying ♪ ♪ I said, "Baby, stop your crying" ♪ ♪ "Stop your crying, stop your crying" ♪ ♪ "Dry of your tears" ♪ ♪ And she was crying ♪ ♪ And she was crying ♪ ♪ And she was crying ♪ ♪ I said, "Baby, stop your crying and dry up your tears" ♪ Edgar: The group uses the classic mento instrumentation of guitar, banjo, maracas, and rhumba box.

What makes up a typical mento song?

I mean, I know some of them were kind of risque, and had double entendres, and lyrics that were about sort of things that you wouldn't really say, but you would sort of say them in the lyrics.

Is that -- Is that true?

You had a song, a mento song about, it would say, like, ♪ See that man trying to woo a girl ♪ ♪ And he won't stop until him take off her clothes.

♪ You know?

That's not very -- That's pretty straight to the point, there.

[ Laughter ] Man: ♪ As I woke up, as I woke up in misery ♪ ♪ Then I was sitting by the riverside ♪ Now, you -- you're playing the rhumba box.

And that kind of looks almost like an African instrument, in some ways.

In Africa, that say "kalimba."

Kalimba.

But they're usually smaller, right?

Yeah.

This is the big kalimba.

Interesting.

You mind if I -- Can you show me how to play it?

Of course.

Yeah.

Let me take a try.

♪ And she was crying ♪ Alright.

First lesson -- don't fall over.

[ Rhythmic tapping ] Okay.

That's easy enough.

[ Other instruments join ] Edgar: It's not as easy as it looks.

This rhumba box requires some serious coordination.

I thought all those video games I played as a kid would pay off, but clearly they were just a big waste of time.

Who knew?

Alright, I think it's gonna be a while before I become a mento musician, but I am gonna practice.

If I do this for a long time -- You know, rub my belly.

Thank you.

Now, don't tell anybody, okay?

This is just our little secret.

Our little secret.

♪♪♪ In the late 1950s, a musical revolution took place in Jamaica with the development of ska... [ Up-tempo music plays ] ...a fast, upbeat dance style that's had a deep impact on the world's music.

There's no one who can tell the story of ska better than Ernest Ranglin -- a legendary guitarist and composer who claims to have been in the room the day ska was invented.

♪♪♪ We meet at the legendary Harry J.

Studios in Kingston, where many of Bob Marley's greatest albums were recorded, and he gives me a rundown of Jamaican music history.

You played a pretty instrumental role in the development of ska.

Can you tell me about that?

Well, we wanted to put a different emphasis on the beat.

So, we decided, instead of you start the one, two, one, two, three, four.

One, two, three, four.

So you have that feeling.

Yeah.

[ Imitates rhythm ] You know?

Right?

Yes.

Yeah.

So, going like that, you say, "Well, this is really on the first beat."

One, two, three, four.

One, two -- You know?

What we decided, that we'll do it in a different way -- like, two, three, four.

One, two, three, four.

So the emphasis is really on the second beat.

Yeah.

So that's how our thing came in.

♪♪♪ It was a Sunday in 1958... Yeah.

...that this happened.

That's pretty amazing, that you can trace it to that moment.

I have a feeling some might have an alternate theory behind the development of ska, but, man, it's a pretty cool story.

So, we're entering Harry J.

Studios now.

Here we have Stephen Stewart.

He's the producer and engineer here at the legendary Harry J.

Studios.

What was it like working with Bob Marley in a recording studio environment?

Well, you know, it's -- the thing is, Bob Marley and the Wailers, because that's the sound.

Yes, Bob Marley, great singer.

Yes, Bob Marley, great songwriter.

But then, the sound of the musicians, The Wailers, with him, they were very serious, very meticulous about their sound.

You know, credit again to the engineer, Sylvan Morris, because these recordings today sound like they were just recorded yesterday.

Among the many items they have on the wall here is a platinum record for "Rastaman Vibration," the Bob Marley and the Wailers album that was recorded right here, along with "Natty Dread" and many other classic Bob Marley records.

So, this is hallowed ground.

Who do we have here?

Man: Hey, guys.

We've got an all-star crew.

[ Indistinct talking ] Well, we've got an incredible lineup, here.

Some of the most amazing musicians.

♪♪♪ Joining Ernest Ranglin in the studio are none other than Sly Dunbar of Sly and Robbie fame, Daniel Axman Thompson on bass, Lloyd Obeah Denton on keyboard, and Uziah "Sticky" Thompson, who's played percussion on thousands of sessions for practically every famous figure in Jamaican music history.

When we were talking outside, you were telling me how the ska rhythm got started.

Maybe you can demonstrate for us what is ska, and what it sounds like.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ I like that typical ska ending.

So, then, after ska came rocksteady.

And what really was the difference, musically, there?

Ranglin: Well, this was much faster.

It would be, you know, a little slower.

[ Indistinct ] [ Slower rhythm plays ] ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ Now -- Now, to my ears, you know, as a novice, rocksteady sounds a lot like reggae, But what's the difference?

I mean, what is it, in terms of what you play on the drums?

Just slightly faster.

Right, but it has kind of a different beat on the on the drums and the bassline, slightly.

Yes, well, it depends on the feel and the tempo.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ Edgar: Wow.

I've been schooled on Jamaican music by a group of living legends.

I can die now.

♪♪♪ Marcia Griffiths is another iconic artist who served as a bridge between ska, rocksteady, and reggae.

Marcia, along with Rita Marley and Judy Mowatt, was a member of the I Threes, Bob Marley's backup singers during the height of his fame.

And after Marley died, her success continued.

Many people don't realize that she was the voice on the song "The Electric Boogie," the worldwide hit that led to the dance The Electric Slide.

Weddings haven't been the same since.

♪♪♪ Since the local youth hostel was all booked up, I've been forced to stay at the picturesque Strawberry Hill Resort, which lies at the top of the Blue Mountains overlooking Jamaica.

It's well worth the gut-wrenching drive up winding mountain roads to get there.

Bob Marley recovered from a gunshot wound he received in 1976 in this tranquil setting.

And with a view like this, it's easy to believe the place has healing powers.

♪♪♪ The resort is co-owned by Chris Blackwell, the founder of Island Records, and the man who made a household name out of Bob Marley, U2, Grace Jones, and countless other musicians over the years.

He brought two different worlds of music.

And you imagine, like, Mick Jagger linking up with Peter Tosh and Bob Marley, and then bringing Studio One up here, and then, just playing music.

And he kept doing that with different artists over the years.

So, I think that's what's special.

And when people come up here, they're very creative.

It's -- It's a -- It's a magical place.

You've got to be here to -- to appreciate it.

There are many other spots like it in the world, but this little spot, this is the one I know.

♪♪♪ Edgar: The resort is a bit of a music museum, as photos of the many famous musicians and gold records Blackwell was responsible for line the walls.

♪♪♪ Okay, dude, I'm starting to get a little jealous.

It's no fair hoarding all the gold records.

It seemed like an apt place to invite Marcia Griffiths to come perform, as it was also a special location in her own life.

We cozy up in the lounge, and I ask her to play the song "Back in the Days," which musically bridges mento and rocksteady, and its lyrics namedrop dozens of pivotal figures in the '60's Jamaican music scene.

♪ The Beauty and splendor is what I remember ♪ ♪ When I'm thinking of back in those days ♪ ♪ We played volleyball and climbed waterfalls ♪ ♪ And watch the sun set end of the day ♪ ♪ At night we would listen to the number one song ♪ ♪ And dance the night away ♪ ♪ King Stitt used to mash it ♪ ♪ U Roy used to rock it ♪ ♪ Big Youth used to flash it ♪ ♪ Brigadier Jerry used to cork it ♪ ♪ And everyone feeling irie ♪ And I don't think a lot of people would know that you've had hits long before you started working with Bob Marley and you've had some pretty spectacular hits since that period, as well.

That's very, very true, because even right now with the song "The Electric Slide," 90% of the people who know that song believe it's someone from overseas.

They would never imagine that it's a Jamaican.

♪ Alcapone used to mash it ♪ ♪ Tippertone used to rock it ♪ ♪ Dennis Brown was inseparable ♪ ♪ And everyone feeling irie ♪ ♪ Count Matchuki used to mash it ♪ ♪ Jimmy Cliff always rock it ♪ ♪ Millie Small, the lollipop girl ♪ ♪ And everyone feeling irie ♪ When Bob asks you to take the I Threes and become a part of his group, did you have any doubts about doing it?

Or was it something you felt positive about right from the beginning?

I was very positive.

When I saw how serious this man took his music, I said, "Wow, this is a responsibility."

You know, whatever you are delivering to the world, it has to be something positive, to teach, educate, and uplift.

I usually say I'm glad I gave him flowers while he was alive.

I just knew that this was a special man sent by Almighty God.

So, I was very pleased, very honored, to work with Bob.

If Damon was here, what would he sing?

♪ Out in the street, they call it "murder" ♪ ♪ Welcome to Jamdown ♪ ♪ Welcome to Jamdown ♪ ♪ Poor people dead at random ♪ ♪ Political violence can't done ♪ If you had to summarize for somebody what your place in Jamaican music history is, how would you explain that to somebody who... came from Mars, you know, and didn't know already?

To hear every single female in the business giving praise to me, saying that I have been their inspiration, their role model, and their everything -- I mean, it means more than money.

No money in the world could purchase anything like that.

It touches my soul.

And I'm so happy to know that my work was not in vain.

♪ Whata dem a what dem dem dem ♪ ♪ Whata dem a what dem dem dem ♪ [ Scatting ] ♪♪♪ ♪ You don't care for me at all ♪ ♪ Care for me at all ♪ Oh, sounding sweet.

♪♪♪ Man: What a dynamite selection.

each and every time.

♪♪♪ Edgar: I feel like I've been traveling in a time machine, zipping back to ancient Africa, up through the mento, ska, and rocksteady eras.

But it's time to stop living in the past and turn my attention to the sounds that are currently dominating the Jamaican music scene.

Until now, most of what I heard has been pretty laid back.

But it's time to get up, stand up, and dive into the aggressive beats, hard-hitting lyrics, and explosive energy of Jamaican dancehall.

♪ One, two, three, four, now ♪ ♪ Everybody dance and sweep dem weh ♪ ♪ Nuh wah see nuh baygon soh eat dem weh ♪ ♪ Everybody dance and sweep dem weh ♪ I have a feeling my Jamaican getaway is going to take a radically different turn.

♪ ...sweep dem weh ♪ ♪ Everybody dance and sweep dem weh ♪ ♪ Dem deh, dem a rubbish soh we sweep dem weh ♪ ♪ Me see Ravers run out and a do di swagga, swagga ♪ ♪ Ragga round di corner wid a gyal like wagga, wagga ♪ ♪ From dem seh dancing style we have a bag a ♪ ♪ We dance from we a tiny tot like Spragga ♪ ♪ Everybody dance including Obama ♪ ♪ Even di First Lady, Michelle, him baby mama ♪ ♪ Peace time, put down di K nuh Osama ♪ ♪ Sweep di rubbish up inna corner, no more drama ♪ ♪ Dance ♪ ♪ Everybody dance and sweep dem weh ♪ ♪ Nuh wah see nuh baygon soh eat dem weh ♪ ♪ Everybody dance and sweep dem weh ♪ ♪ Dem deh, dem a rubbish soh we sweep dem weh ♪ [ Music fades ]